In a significant development in the case against Julian Assange, the founder of WikiLeaks, the UK's High Court has granted him permission to appeal his extradition to the United States. This comes as two senior judges considered Assange's rights to free speech on American soil as a foreign national from Australia, as reported by CNN.

American prosecutors had tried to assure the court that Assange would be afforded full rights and not face discrimination. However, Assange's lawyer, Edward Fitzgerald, argued that these assurances were inadequate. Nevertheless, he accepted a separate guarantee from U.S. prosecutors that they would not seek the death penalty in his case.

The decision to grant Assange an appeal was met with joyous celebration by hundreds of his supporters who had gathered outside the court. Their chants and drumbeats called for the U.S. government to drop the charges against Assange. Amnesty International hailed the ruling as "a rare piece of positive news for Julian Assange and all defenders of press freedom" after years of legal battles spanning more than a decade.

During this lengthy legal saga, Assange first sought refuge in the Ecuadorian embassy in London before spending five years in the high-security Belmarsh prison. The case against Assange, filed by the administration of former U.S. President Donald Trump in 2019, accuses him of foreign espionage related to the leak of classified documents and diplomatic cables in 2010 and 2011.

If convicted, Assange faces a potential sentence of life imprisonment. However, with the appeal granted, the future of the extradition remains uncertain. Even President Joe Biden, who succeeded Trump, has acknowledged the calls to reconsider the case, stating that his administration is considering its options.

Assange's fight against extradition has drawn international attention and sparked debates about media freedom and the rights of journalists and whistleblowers. Amnesty International's legal adviser, Simon Crowther, expressed concern, stating that "the USA's ongoing attempt to prosecute Assange puts media freedom at risk worldwide" and called for the protection of critical reporting in the public interest without the fear of persecution.

As the legal battle continues, all eyes will be on the outcome of Assange's appeal and the potential implications it may have on press freedom and the future prosecution of whistleblowers.